Nashville, TN vs Albuquerque, NM
Moving from Nashville to Albuquerque? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $352,894 median home) and taxes.
Nashville vs Albuquerque at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Nashville, TN, you'd need about $96,499 in Albuquerque, NM (−$3,501).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Albuquerque, NM: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 2,621 sqft in Albuquerque ($228 vs $191 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Albuquerque, NM | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $18,024 | −$3,552 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,871 | +$156 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,260 | +$130 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,632 | +$24 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,900 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $10,881 | +$5,651 |
| Total | $38,459 | $40,568 | +$2,109 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Albuquerque, NM |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 93.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 5.69% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 1.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 61 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.33 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $352,894 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $191 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,502 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 7.78% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 0.93% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 15.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 780 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 25 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |